JPH0256542A - Color copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make an automatic negative/positive decision on a transparent document and to eliminate miscopying by providing a means which decides the negative/positive decision according to the light measured value of a photometry sensor for the transparent document. CONSTITUTION:The photometry sensor 43 is provided at, for example, an image formation position in an optical path which is formed when the shutter 44 of an exposure part 14 is closed, and the photometric value of the photometry sensor 43 is inputted to a decision means such as a microcomputer to make the negative/positive decision. When an exposure quantity control system is selected, the relation between transmission density and the exposure quantity is found experimentally in advance and stored in an exposure quantity control means and one condition is selected among stored exposure control systems according to the negative/positive decision result. Thus, a color negative film and a color positive film are discriminated automatically, so miscopying is eliminated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a color copying apparatus capable of copying a positive original and a negative original as positive images.

<Prior Art> In a color copying machine, normally only a reflective original, only a transparent original, or even a reflective original and a transparent positive original are placed on an original table, and the reflected light or transmitted light from the original is processed. A photosensitive material is exposed to obtain a copied image.

A color copying apparatus capable of copying a reflective original and a color positive film is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 124021/1983.

In this device, an irradiation device for transparent originals is removably mounted on a transparent original mounting table for reflective originals of a scanning exposure type copying apparatus. Then, a color positive (reversal) film as a transparent original is loaded into this irradiation device. At this time, the irradiation device includes a light source and an imaging means, and projects light transmitted from the light source through the document onto the mounting table.

The projected image is then scanned and exposed using, for example, a scanning exposure type optical system.

<Problem to be solved by the invention> By the way, in addition to color positive film, as a transparent original,
There is also a desire to copy positive images using color negative film.

In such a case, the operator visually identifies whether the document is negative or positive, inputs this information into the copying machine, and selects the photosensitive material to be used.

However, when a large number of originals contain a mix of positive and negative originals, it is necessary to check each copy using transmitted light. If you have a positive original, you may make an input mistake or forget to return it to the original, resulting in incorrect copies. In particular, in a transparent original irradiation device, when a normal original is set, it is often impossible to see the original and the projected image, so there is a possibility that such erroneous copies occur frequently.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a color copying apparatus that can automatically determine whether a transparent original is negative or positive when it is capable of copying a transparent original.

Means to solve problems〉 These objects are achieved by the invention described below.

That is, the present invention includes at least an original setting section in which a transparent original can be set, an exposure section for exposing an image on the original setting section, an exposure control section, a supply section into which a photosensitive material can be loaded, and a photosensitive material after exposure. In a color copying apparatus capable of copying a transparent original, the color copying apparatus has a photometric sensor for the transparent original and a photometric value of the photometric sensor to determine whether the transparent original is negative or positive. This color copying apparatus is characterized in that it has a negative/positive determining means for performing the following, and is configured so that an exposure control method can be selected according to the determination result of the determining means.

<Function> The color copying apparatus of the present invention is provided with a photometric sensor for transparent originals, and based on the photometric value of this photometric sensor, a negative/positive determination is made, and based on this determination, the exposure side i is determined depending on the negative original or positive original. The wholesale method is selected.

<Example> Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained according to examples.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a silver halide photographic type scanning exposure type color copying machine to which the apparatus of the present invention is applied.

The apparatus main body 10 is provided with a paper feed section 12 on the right side, an exposure section 14 and a processing section 16 above, and a drying section 18 on the left side.

In addition, a pair of magazines 20 and 22 can be loaded into this silver-halide photographic color copying machine at the top and bottom, and photosensitive materials 24 and 26 are housed in rolls inside these magazines, and are loaded from the tip. The paper is taken out to the paper feed section 12. - For example, 24 is a photosensitive material that is most suitable for copying a color photo reflective original, a photosensitive material that is most suitable for copying a color printed original, or a photosensitive material that is most suitable for copying a color positive film, and 26 is a photosensitive material that is most suitable for copying a positive image of a color negative film. It is the most suitable photosensitive material.

The photosensitive material 24 or 26 pulled out from the magazine 20, 22 is sent through the paper feed section 12 to the exposure window 28, and the document image from the exposure section 14 is exposed.

A transparent glass plate 30 is provided above the exposure section 14 as a document mounting table, and a slide projector type irradiation device 100 is detachably installed above the glass plate 30 . That is, the document setting section of the present invention is composed of the document placing table and the irradiation device.

The scanning exposure yarn is formed by the irradiation device 100 and the exposure section 14, and as will be explained in detail with reference to FIG.
At 0, a transparent original such as a slide film is illuminated by a light source 112 such as a halogen lamp, and this transmitted light passes through the glass plate 30, is reflected by a plurality of mirrors 49, passes through the optical means 42, and opens the shutter 44. The photosensitive material 24 (26) is exposed through the exposure window 28.

The optical means 42 includes filter control means for controlling the amounts of B, G, and R light.

A switching guide 50 is provided in the middle of the conveyance trajectory of the photosensitive material 24, 26 (below the exposure window 28 in FIG. 1), and the photosensitive material 24, 26 sent vertically downward is transferred to the processing section 16 when necessary.
It is now possible to change direction to guide you.

The processing section 16 is successively provided with a developing tank 46, a bleach-fixing tank 47, and a washing tank 48, 49, and the photosensitive material is developed, bleached, fixed, and washed with the processing liquid filled into these tanks. 24 (26) are sent to the drying section 18. In addition, the developer tank 46 and the bleach-fix tank 47
, the washing tank 48.49 has a replenishment tank 60.49 below it.
62 and 64 are provided, so that replenishment fluid can be replenished to various types as required.

In the drying section 18, the photosensitive material 24 (26) after being washed with water is dried and sent onto a take-out tray 54.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the irradiation device 100.

The irradiation device 100 is removably installed at a predetermined position of the copying machine main body 10 above the glass plate 30 using a bracket 110.

Inside the irradiation device 100, a light source 112 (for example, a halogen lamp) and a flex 114 are provided. A carriage 116 that holds an original such as a slide film is arranged on the side facing the reflector 114.

A lens 118 is placed on the optical path through which the light from the light source 112 passes through the original held by the carriage 116, and a diaphragm 120 is placed close to either the front or rear of the lens 118 or close to the light source 112.

Then, the image light of the original that has exited the lens 118 is reflected by a reflection mirror 122, and is imaged by a concentric Fresnel lens 124 onto a focusing glass 126 that is close to the glass plate 30.

This formed image is slit-scanned by the exposure section 14 and exposed onto the photosensitive material 24, 26 as described above.

Therefore, in order to adjust for under- or over-exposure conditions in the initial exposure state of the reversal film or negative film that is the document held on the carriage 116, the light amount is adjusted by, for example, the aperture 120.

The carriage 116 has several image frames, and by performing the above-described operation for each frame, each frame image is properly exposed.

The amount of light can be adjusted by the diaphragm 120 by combining a plurality of ND filters, and each ND filter is generally connected to a solenoid and moved. In this case, the adjustment takes place in several discrete steps.
However, placement at approximately any position on the optical path is possible.

Further, the light amount may be adjusted by adjusting the exposure time such as the scanning speed.

Further, the irradiation device 100 is removable as described above,
By providing a scanning light source 38 below the glass plate 30, it is also possible to copy a reflective original.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a unit that is another embodiment of the present invention.

By replacing this transmission light source unit 200 with the irradiation device 100, it is possible to copy a transmission type original.

As for its structure, it is placed above the glass plate 30 and has a curved flap 210 that bulges on the opposite side from the glass plate 30. Furthermore, reflector 2
10 At the bottom is a rod-shaped halogen lamp 220a% which is a light source.
b is arranged, and below it there is a section 230 for mounting a removable and replaceable ND filter 235 that has an area that can cover at least the size of the document.
A diffuser plate 240 is provided immediately below.

The irradiated light from the diffusion plate 240 is transmitted through the original placed between the original and the mounting table, and is exposed to the photosensitive material.

Under such a premise, in the present invention, the exposure section 14
A photometric sensor 43 is provided, for example, at an imaging position in the optical path formed when the shutter 44 is closed.

Regarding the type of photometric sensor, the installation position, etc., it is sufficient to use an appropriate determination method described later.

In the present invention, the photometric value of the photometric sensor is input to a discrimination means such as a normal microcomputer, and negative/positive discrimination is performed as shown in (1) to (2) below.

■ Normally, three color B, G, and R original photometering sensors are arranged, and one
Calculate the D IIIm and D +++1° of the color or three colors.

In this case, Dmax −Dm+n > k C= 2,
If it is 0, it is positive.

This is because while a transparent positive original has a γ of 1.5, a negative original has a γ of 0.8, so a positive original has a large contrast that cannot be achieved with a negative original.

■ Arrange original reading sensors for 3 colors or 2 colors B and R.

Then, from one or more of the image area of the transparent original, for example, the average density, minimum density, and maximum density of the three colors of the area 82 shown in FIG. 5, the density histogram of the three colors, and the density of the cumulative density distribution, R, G, B concentration, DR, D, and even D w = (DR + Da + D s )
/ Find the third prize.

At this time, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the negative original, the B density is higher than the R density.

Therefore, Ds - Ds > k d.

kd=0.　1～0、4 DB/Dw>DR/Dw If so, it is negative.

Similarly, D B111in and D , lff1nl, D3
bird. , D6, DIl, and D-/Dw.

Therefore, if two or more of these types are combined, the accuracy of negative determination will be improved. If the positive determination (■) and the negative determination (■) are combined, the accuracy of negative/positive determination will be improved.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of negative/positive determination using a combination of ■ and two types of ■.

■ Measure the frame density outside the image area using one or more color sensors.

In this case, the frame density means, in the case of the negative film 8, the density between the frames and the perforations, between the perforations, etc. as shown by diagonal lines in FIG. It is.

Then, if D>1.5, it is positive, and if Df<1.5, it is positive.
If it is 5, it is a film mask density, so it is negative.

Furthermore, it is also possible to measure the R, G, and B densities of Df and make the determination using the method (2) above.

(2) Determine whether the color image is a positive film color image or a negative film color image using two sensors sensitive to 650 nm and 700 nm.

At this time, D aso > D 7°. If so, it is positive, and Das. <D. . If so, it is negative.

Each of these methods may be used alone, but as described above, if two or more of these methods are combined, the discrimination accuracy will be improved.

Note that these photometric measurements are normally performed by performing pre-scanning after setting the document.

As shown in FIG. 2, selection of a photosensitive material or selection of an exposure control method is performed.

When selecting a photosensitive material, one of the magazines 20 and 22 may be selected and fed according to the negative or positive signal output by the negative/positive determining means.

Furthermore, when selecting an exposure amount control method, the relationship between the transmission density and the exposure amount E (exposure amount determination condition) is determined experimentally in advance. Then, this is stored as a table or formula in an exposure amount control means composed of a microcomputer or the like.

At this time, the average density of the original is used as the transmission density. but,
Originals where the average density and main area density are significantly different cannot be copied properly, and specific image areas in the original may be
For example, maximum density, minimum density, center density, peripheral density, etc.) may be selected and combined to be used as the density for exposure control.

In such an exposure control method, the involvement of the density of each specific image portion in exposure control is different between a negative original image and a positive original image.

For example, in the case of a backlit photograph, a negative original has a high peripheral image density, whereas a positive original has a low peripheral image density.

As described above, since the function of image density for exposure control differs between negative originals and positive originals, it is necessary to prepare and select an exposure control method suitable for each.

Note that exposure time or illuminance may be used instead of the exposure amount.

Furthermore, filter selection may be performed as a condition for determining the exposure amount.

An example of such a relationship is shown in FIG. 8 in the case of a negative, which is a broken line centered at . In addition, in the positive case, when DN < DN, the bending degree becomes a folded line at two points.

These relationships can be determined by setting a transmission test film, photometrically measuring it, then actually obtaining a copy image from this test film, setting this copy image, and photometering it to obtain the desired copy density. It is better to store the information in the actual device so as to obtain the following information.

Then, from among these stored exposure control methods, one condition is selected corresponding to negative/positive determination.

In this way, after negative/positive determination is performed and the exposure control method or photosensitive material is selected, the exposure amount is then controlled.

In this exposure amount control, the aperture amount and filter amount are changed according to a known method, corresponding to the photometric value read during the pre-scanning and the selected exposure amount side (wholesale method). This can be done by changing the amount of light by changing the lamp voltage, exposure time, etc., or by changing the scanning speed or duration of scanning.

Thereafter, actual copying will be performed according to the procedure described above.

The above is an example in which the present invention is applied to a scanning type copying device.
The present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus using a surface exposure method such as a color photographic printer, or an image forming apparatus using a digital processing method such as a laser blink method.

In the surface exposure method, only transparent originals are often copied, and in this case, the irradiation device does not need to be attached or detached and may be fixed.

Furthermore, in a digital image processing printer, the image processing method may be automatically controlled depending on whether the image is negative or positive.

In this case, a single photosensitive material may be used by performing negative/positive conversion through image processing and exposing each pixel to light.

Instead of converting negative/positive, you can also convert positive/negative.
The copying sensitive material used differs depending on the type of copying, and its selection is determined by the use of the copying device, the cost and stability of the photosensitive material, processing agent, and other factors.

Negative/positive and positive/negative conversion and subsequent arithmetic processing can be easily performed using well-known methods.

<Effects of the Invention> According to the present invention, since color negative film and color positive film can be automatically distinguished, copying errors are eliminated.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a silver salt photographic color copying machine to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an irradiation device in the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another irradiation device in the present invention. FIG. 2 is a transparent perspective view showing an embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure of negative/positive determination in the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic front view for explaining the installation position of the photometric sensor. FIGS. 6 and 7 are graphs showing the relationship between exposure amount and density for color negative films and color positive films, respectively. FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are graphs showing examples of exposure amount determining conditional expressions for color negative film and color positive film, respectively. Reference numerals in the figure 10...Main body, 12...Paper feeding section, 14...Exposure section, 16...Processing section, 18...Drying section, 20.22...Magazine, 24.26. ...Photosensitive material, 8...Color negative film, 28...Exposure window, 30...Glass plate, 40...Mirror 42...Optical means, 43...Photometric sensor, 44...Shutter , 46...Developer tank, 47...Bleach-fix tank, 48.49...Washing tank, 50...Switching guide, 54...Take-out tray, 60.62.64...Tank, 100 ...Irradiation device, 110...Bracket for mounting the main body, 112...Light source, 114...Reflector 116...Carriage, 118...Lens, 120...Aperture, 122...Reflection Mirror 124... Concentric Fresnel lens, 126... Focus glass, 200... Transmitted illumination unit, 210... Reflector 220a, b... Halogen lamp, 230... Filter mounting part, 235 ... ND filter 240 ... Diffusion plate FIG, 2 FIG, 3 FIG FIG / FIG, 6 logE FIG, 7 FIG, 8 FIG, 9 Teitouri Neho Seisho (self-proposal) Incident display Showa Patent Application No. 207936 of 1963 Name of the invention Relationship with the color copying device amendment case Patent applicant

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) An original setting section in which at least a transparent original can be set, an exposure section that exposes the image of this original setting section, an exposure control section, a supply section into which a photosensitive material can be loaded, and a developing section for developing the exposed photosensitive material. In a color copying apparatus capable of copying transparent originals, the color copying apparatus has a photometric sensor for transparent originals and a photometric value of the photometric sensor to determine whether the transparent original is negative or positive. 1. A color copying apparatus comprising: negative/positive determining means, and configured to be able to select an exposure control method according to the determination result of the determining means.